Neuroi
The Neuroi are the primary antagonists of the Strike Witches. They are a belligerent alien race that appears every so often. They literally consume swaths of the earth to gain their power, Europe and Africa being the most affected continents. Since they derive much of their energy from consuming land, they can not travel over large bodies of water. It's of note that humanity gives names to the Neuroi depending on the class and role they fulfill or due to the nature or features of the class in question, as shown in the Witches of Africa Doujinshi and the Misfits Light Novels. For some Neuroi classes they are given Latin sounding names of origin like: Diomedia, Laro's and Laro's-kai or names based on the shapes, actions, attributes or nature such as the Flying Goblets, Ziggurats and Turtle class. Even Infantry class Neuroi have been observed in the field. They are also further identified though class type depending on their function: Recon types (Neruoi dedicated to reconnaissance roles), Attack Types (Neruoi designed primarily for attack roles) and direct warfare, and Siege Types (Massive-sized,formidable Neruoi that are designed to either remain in place or alternatively to serve as a mobile fortress to defend Neruoi territory or serve as a juggernaut to steamroll through allied lines), although other general role classifications like Artillery Types, AA Types and other such Neruoi role fillers may also exist. Most highly common class are given such names. Uniqe Neuroi classess, however, recive an alpha numeric designation of "X" followed by a number, likely indicating the order of witch such Neuroi are encountred by the 1940's. Such as the X-11 Witch class Neuroi being one such example. History Throughout history, the Neuroi have been known by many names - including Kaii (怪異, strangeness) and Rätsel (German; riddle). However, starting from the Second Neuroi War, they received the name of a mythical tribe that once lived in the Black Sea region due their recurrent emergences coming from that area. The first known contact between humans and Neuroi occured when ancient Egypt was at the height of its glory. It is unknown what preceded this, but humans were able to seal a nest of Neuroi beneath a city. They struck the name of the city from history, as even knowing of the seal would cause it to break. When these Neuroi were inadvertently released during the Second Neuroi War, their models were revealed to be identical to the models of Neuroi already fighting in the area. The reason for this fact is unknown, but it possibly implies that the Neuroi didn't develop technologically until the Second Neuroi War forced them to do so. The Neuroi appeared sporadically throughout human history after this point, but they never posed a serious threat until after the invention of the magic engine, a steam-powered device which amplified a witch's magic ability many times, and the resultant rise in magic usage. The first wave of Neuroi attacks culminated in the First Neuroi War, which lasted until 1917 and was a massive victory for the Neuroi, as humanity had not yet figured out a means to effectively fight against them and was forced to constantly retreat. Despite losing the First Neuroi War, humanity still prevails in places where Neuroi attacks were rare. It was eventually discovered that witches could block the Neuroi's miasma and beam attacks, allowing them to get close enough to Neuroi to potentially fight back. To complement witches in battle, the Striker Unit was developed by Dr. Miyafuji in 1935. Older ones were believed to be already being used after the First Neuroi War. It used a magic engine to enhance a witch's magical abilities, allowing them to fly and to carry weaponry that can otherwise only be mounted on vehicles. The new breed of witches, who flew with this new Striker Units, became known as Strike Witches. The first use of Strike Witches in battle was in Hispania in 1936 and during the Fuso Sea Incident of 1937, in which an exploratory group of Neuroi approached Fuso. The inhabitants of Fuso were prepared for this battle, as they'd been awakened to the renewed threat of the Neuroi after sightings in Hispania, and they had been training witches in anticipation of sending them to Hispania. The battle was a large victory for the witches, and it helped bring such aces as Sakamoto Mio and Anabuki Tomoko to fame. Possibly as a result of their resounding defeat here, the Neuroi have not attacked Fuso since this incident. In 1939, the Neuroi launched an attack of unprecedented scale on mainland Europe. As the nations there had gotten used to peace, they were unprepared for the assault and began to fall one after another. Ostmark was hit first and fell quickly. Karlsland was able to hold out against the Neuroi for much longer, but they were still eventually forced to retreat, with their military scattered to the east and west. Gallia wasn't able to hold out much longer against a ground assault from the Neuroi, and the military forces there focused their efforts on evacuating as many people as possible to Britannia , which, as an island nation, was much more defensible against the Neuroi. At the same time, the Neuroi expanded into the east, conquering much of Orussia and expanding until the Suomus Misfits Squad was able to score some surprising victories and hold the line against the advancing Neuroi. The victories of this squadron inspired the formation of Joint Fighter Wings, which were comprised of witches from various nations working together, where they were able to bring varied technologies and skillsets together. The Neuroi expanded southwards into Afrika as well, although humanity found it much easier to defend the massive plains of this continent. The incredible visibility meant that the plains of Afrika were the one and only place where conventional artillery could outrange Neuroi weaponry, allowing Afrika to be defended by a much smaller complement of witches than other fronts of the battle. Eventually, the efforts of the witches, in particular the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, allowed humanity to regain territory it had lost to the Neuroi. The 501st was responsible for the destruction of the Neuroi hives over both Gallia and Romagna. Both of these hives were destroyed in part due to efforts to mimic Neuroi technology. In Gallia, the Warlock was designed using research performed on a recovered Neuroi core, but it was deployed before testing was completed and turned on humanity after attempting to control the Neuroi. When the Warlock's core was destroyed, its connection to the Neuroi in Gallia resulted in a chain reaction that destroyed all Neuroi in the airspace and liberated Gallia. Similarly, the hive over Romagna was attacked by the battleship Yamato after it had been "Neuroified." Although the Yamato was successfully able to destroy the hive, the aftermath saw the formation of a massive Neuroi core which was attached to the Yamato and Sakamoto Mio, using the latter's shields to protect itself from all attacks. The core was only able to be destroyed when Miyafuji Yoshika used up all of the magical ability within her body to perform the legendary Shin Reppuzan attack on the core. With the destruction of this core, all remaining Neuroi in Romagnan and Venezian airspace were destroyed. As of 1945, Neuroi hives have been confirmed in the following regions. *[[Wikipedia:Berlin|'Berlin's airspace']] - this massive hive is the final target of the European Resistance Operation; *[[Wikipedia:Black Sea|'Black Sea's coast']] - the very first hive that appeared in the beginning of the Second Neuroi War; *[[Wikipedia:Elbe|'Elbe River']] - located in the vicinities of the river's mouth, it is currently being opposed by the 506th Joint Fighter Wing; *[[Gallia|'East Gallia']] - destroyed thanks to the efforts of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing; *[[Wikipedia:Nuremberg|'Nuremberg']] - presented in the movie; *[[Ostmark|'Ostmark's airspace']] - apparently multiple hives can be found in this region. Portion of the easternmost areas of Karlsland and the westernmost areas of Orussia are also in their sphere of influence; *[[Wikipedia:Prague|'Prague']] - presented in the movie; *[[Karlsland|'South Karlsland']] - apparently located near the Rhine river, destroyed by a stronger hive that later established itself in Venezia; *[[Wikipedia:Novgorod_Oblast|'South Novgorov']] - currently being opposed by the 502nd Joint Fighter Wing; *[[Wikipedia:Great_Sphinx_of_Giza|'Sphinx's airspace']] - currently being opposed by the 31st Joint Fighter Squadron Afrika; *[[Venezia|'Venezia']] - destroyed thanks to the efforts of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing; Types The Neuroi show great variety in their designs, and their models have evolved as the war has progressed. Their designs have typically progressed from small models that are employed en masse to fewer, larger models. With the exception of drones, all models of Neuroi in use by 1944 have a single, critical weakpoint: their core, a red polyhedron whose size varies with the size of the Neuroi. If the core is destroyed, the entire Neuroi will be destroyed, along with any drones it has deployed and any other Neuroi under its control. The core is typically buried within the center of the Neuroi, although exceptions exist (such as one Neuroi which kept its core in a distant bug-like Neuroi). Neuroi surround their core with black armor that shows a hexagonal pattern. Certain patches of this armor are colored red, which signifies the location of the Neuroi's energy weapons. Earlier models of Neuroi were vastly different in design, and more closely resembled conventional aircraft. They lacked the cores and regenerative abilities seen in later models, and could be shot down by damaging their engines or dealing enough damage to their wings. It is unknown at what point the Neuroi developed their modern designs. The Neuroi from the Movie seem to have the ability to block radio communication, teleport and avoid detection by Heidemarie W. Schnaufer's antennae (until it comes within close range) for unknown reasons. The model of Neuroi that prominently appeared in the Movie possessed an alternate form, the purpose of which is also unknown. Also revealed in the movie is that before the advent of the 17th century ancient Neuroi often took more animal-like, monstrous or "demonic" in form, judging from ancient paintings, drawings and scripts that show Neuroi-like creatures locked in battle with witches and humanity, indicating that the Neuroi are an old enemy of humanity and witchkind, and only recently Neuroi have grown and adapted to take on more powerful vehicle-like forms. Drone A small Neuroi deployed in the defense of a larger Neuroi. Drones do not have cores of their own and cannot regenerate themselves. It is unknown whether destroyed drones can be regenerated by their parent Neuroi, but this has not been seen in combat. Large-type The standard flying class of Neuroi, and the most common type of Neuroi seen in the anime. A large-type Neuroi is comparable in size to a large aircraft at its smallest, but they can also be much larger. A single large-type Neuroi is capable of overpowering fleets of ships or multiple wings of conventional fighters. When possible, a wing of six or more witches is used to take down a large-type, although it is possible for a single witch to take down a large-type with sufficient skill or luck. Certain large-types are capable of deploying drones, typically by splitting their bodies into multiple parts. Capital Unofficial name for unique models of Neuroi which are deployed for specific purposes. There is no apparent upper limit to the possible size of Neuroi, with one even manifesting as a 30 km-high tower. They still suffer the weakness of having a single core, which if destroyed will result in the destruction of the entire Neuroi, though it is usually much better defended. Capital Neuroi are almost always able to deploy numerous drones in their defense. Heavy The ground-based counterpart to large-type Neuroi. Heavies typically resemble tanks, and although they are much more powerful than human tanks, it is possible to defeat them with conventional anti-tank measures. Certain heavies take a four-legged form, nicknamed "turtles." Tank Witches are the preferred countermeasure, followed by Strike Witches, as heavies are usually able to overwhelm most conventional forces once they are in range to use their weapons. In flat terrain where artillery can accurately shoot outside of their visible range, it is often possible for them to destroy heavies before the heavies are in range to counterattack. Ultra-heavy Extremely large ground-based Neuroi that are exceedingly difficult to destroy. They are virtually impossible to destroy with conventional weaponry, and even witches face much difficulty in destroying them, often owing to size, firepower and both thickness the durability of the Neuroi's metal shell. One example of an Ultra-heavy Neruoi was a massive Neruoi that consisted of an assimilated ships hull. Such Neruoi combat platforms are heavily armed and armored, and it's implied that even their Core's a more durable compared to other Neruoi and requiring of tremendous amounts of firepower to breach the armored shell and and a bit more firepower than normal to destroy the core. Witch-like Some Neuroi have taken forms resembling Strike Witches, in some cases even being modeled after individual witches. In these cases, the Neuroi are almost exactly as powerful as the witches they mimic. However, they lack the experience of witches and their capability for teamwork, so these Neuroi are no match for an experienced wing of witches. The Neuroi witches learned through espionage, after a brainwashed witch was released to train with other witches, while transmitting tactics back to the Neuroi. The Neuroi witches were also assisted by brainwashed witches in battle. A witch-like Neuroi, known as X-11 (aka Neuroi Girl) was seen again much later in the war, over the Brittanian Channel and later in Venezia. This Neuroi was not designed to mimic any individual witch, and it used standard Neuroi weaponry and defenses rather than carrying guns like the previous Neuroi witches. In the first encounter with this Neuroi, Miyafuji Yoshika attempted to make contact with it, and she gained knowledge of the Warlock project as a result. However, the Neuroi witch was destroyed by the Warlock before its plans could be ascertained. Another witch-like Neuroi was seen over Venezia, where Takei Junko attempted to communicate with it. This attempt was interrupted by the appearance of the Super Hive and the destruction of the Neuroi witch by other Neuroi. Small and Medium-types Smaller aerial Neuroi, typically deployed en masse to defend hives. Although rarely seen in the anime, as the Neuroi have shifted to primarily using large-types for offense, small and medium-types are the greatest contributors to witches' kill counts. As they lack the armor of large-types, it is possible, though costly, for them to be destroyed by conventional weaponry. The Flying Goblett's frequantly found in Africa fall under these catagories. Hive The primary Neuroi base of operations, which generates lesser Neuroi to fight in its offense and defense. Hives can appear seemingly out of nowhere, and there is no known way to predict where they will appear. From the outside, hives appear as a roughly conical black funnel cloud. Their inner walls carry the characteristic black hexagon pattern. When a hive is destroyed, all Neuroi that it has spawned are also destroyed. Super-Hive A unique hive which appeared in Romagnan and Venezian airspace in 1945. The Super-Hive was an order of magnitude larger than normal hives, and was colored dark green rather than pitch black. It also possessed a large spherical, armored area below the bottom of the cloud-like portion, which is not present in normal hives. While the core of a normal hive is little larger than the core of a large-type Neuroi, the Super-Hive's core was far larger, comparable in size to a normal hive. The core also showed the ability to learn very quickly, being able to generate shields after partially absorbing Sakamoto Mio. Nest A nest can be best described a ground bound "hive" that nominally deploys ground based Neuroi units, although some small and medium class air units can and have been documented to deploy from Nests as well in supporting roles. Used as a type of Neuroi ground base, they are seen as structures, caverns and tunnels leading into the ground, although the exact size and shape can vary. It can be ventured that the interiors are similar to that of hives.The Anonymous Metropolis (AKA: "The Pyramid with no name"), that was stumbled upon in Africa during the Battle of the Sphinx was one such example that is well known; this particular nest appeared when a centuries old sealing spell that was made to seal away the Anonymous Metropolis was broken when it's mere existence was known of, which resulted in the seal breaking and releasing the Nest as well as all the Neuroi that were sealed away with it. It's not certain how many Nest's their are in the Neuroi war outside of the example found during the battle of the Sphinx. Allied Technologies On two occasions, allied forces have used Neuroi technology to enhance their own weaponry. The first instance of this was the Warlock, which used a captured Neuroi core as its energy source. After it was deployed, the Warlock began to show independance from its controllers. It eventually coated itself in Neuroi armor and took control of all Neuroi in Gallian airspace and turned on the allied forces. When its core was destroyed, the Warlock was destroyed along with the Gallian hive and all other nearby Neuroi. The second instance of the allied forces using Neuroi technology was with the Neuroification of the Yamato. Unlike the Warlock, the Yamato remained firmly under allied control. It gained Neuroi armor, beam weaponry, regeneration, and the ability to fly. After destroying the shell of the Super-Hive, the Yamato was partially trapped within the hive's core until the core's destruction. Gallery Bachem1 copy.jpg|Bachem iteration air type Neruoi Bachem2 copy.jpg|Alternative Bachem iteration air type Neruoi; possibly a "Kai" iteration. Lerche copy.jpg|The Lerche type Neruroi Neruoi Spindal 1.jpg|Spindal class Neruoi from the 506th source books showing the Spindle in flight/passive mode. Also shown is a image of a member of the 506th observing the Spindle from the ground. Neruoi Spindal 2.jpg|Pindal class Neruoi shown in attack mode 13NeuroiX-5.jpg|X-5 class Missile Neruoi 14045539 10154472141163464 7710830037233991863 n.jpg 111.jpg|Various types and iterations of Neruoi infantry 4832400769 8330b3924d b.jpg|A typical Neruoi core X-11 bio.png| Schematic of information on the X-11 class Witch type Neruoi X-11 Witch class Neruoi clothing deconstruct.jpg|X-11 Class Air Infantry Witch type Neruoi Deconstructing it's 'sweater' and reavling a better look at it's 'panties'. Category:Bucket Category:Terminology